Ghosts and The Afterlife
The afterlife is very much a part of daily life in many of the various countries of Itaedia. In particular, strongholds for the old gods are known to be host to many ghosts who are too afraid of the contention over thir soul to cross over. Brynnewald, being right in the heart of the land controlled by Oberon and Titania, is famous for this. Ghosts are a fact of life in Brynnewald, as the Squire family---whom you will doubtless meet---can tell you. The Squires are the oldest family in Brynnewald, and might even be descended from the inhabitants of the pagan farm that was once beside the Whystern. A member of their family is one of the Reanimated, Master Billy, and he will be a nuisance to you as long as you’re at the Academy. There are four kinds of ghosts, as described below: MUTE GHOSTS Translucent people that try very hard to act like they’re corporeal. All are in denial about their death. Several have been known to make a farely decent time of it, provided that all whom they had known in life continue to, more or less, act as if they'd never passed on. Several residents of Brynnewald in the Black Forest, in fact, have been going about their daily business for decades after they'd died. ABILITIES None, save from looking more and more depressed with themselves. The inability to move solid objects and the loss of certain needs, such as the need to eat, have rendered many Mute Ghosts to a state of semi-gelatinous appearance, which many who study the deceased have classified as a kind of depression. Phantom Therapy, though a very new feild, has taken off among the young minds coming to the Imperial Universities from Brynnewald. DANGER Absolutely none, unless they take it into their heads to possess someone. This has definitely happened in several instances, even though for many the "possession defense" has not held up in court. There are, of course, ways to tell, if one has Gypsy blood. Moreover, Mute Ghosts are easily dispatched of by containing them within a bag that is then buried. Scientists are unsure as to why. LIMBO GHOSTS They look like Mute Ghosts, but they can speak, and have come to terms with the fact that they’re dead. ABILITIES Anything they can do to complete their Unfinished Business, they will do. However, they can only do magic if they’d learned it in life. DANGER Anywhere between harmless to extremely dangerous. It all depends what they’re still here for. THE REANIMATED Reanimated Ghosts are Mute Ghosts that have possessed their own bodies in a further attempt to be alive. They can speak and are corporeal, but are usually rotting to some degree. ABILITIES Just as Mute Ghosts have yet to come to terms with their death, Reanimated Ghosts are not willing to depart this world and will do anything to avoid it. This often makes them very stubborn and troublesome. DANGER Slightly more dangerous than Limbo Ghosts, though they won’t ever leave. THE DISEMBODIED (no description) ABILITIES These are the most knowledgeable, and the most contrary. Very old, they require the old kinds of rituals. DANGER Only if they’re angry. Category:Science Category:Religion Category:Anthropology